The French company joins the small group of players approved by the Autorité des marchés financiers under the European MiCA regulation, opening a new phase of deployment at the European level.

Deskoin SAS announces that it has obtained from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) its approval as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, known as MiCA.

This approval authorizes Deskoin to provide six of the ten services covered by the regulation: custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, transfer of crypto-assets, exchange of crypto-assets for funds or for other crypto-assets, execution of orders on crypto-assets on behalf of clients, as well as crypto-asset advice.

This approval is part of a consistent strategy, launched as early as 2018, placing compliance, trust and security at the heart of the company’s model.

A company committed, since its inception, alongside regulation

Since its creation in 2018, Deskoin has chosen a unique path in the crypto-asset sector: one of patient development, anchored in the regulatory framework in force and its successive changes. This requirement has translated into an ongoing dialogue with the French authorities, a constant priority given to asset security and client protection, and continuous improvements to its technological platform to meet the highest standards of the financial sector.

This trajectory has accompanied a profound transformation of the ecosystem. In nearly eight years, Deskoin has seen crypto-assets move from a confidential asset class, largely unknown and sometimes viewed with skepticism, to a component now integrated into the strategies of financial institutions, large companies and European public authorities. The MiCA approval is part of this movement toward institutional adoption and marks its natural culmination for Deskoin.

The AMF, one of Europe’s most demanding regulators

The MiCA approval issued by the AMF is recognized as one of the most difficult to obtain in the European Union, due to the French regulator’s heightened requirements in terms of governance, operational resilience and cybersecurity. To date, only a minority of the long-standing providers in the French ecosystem have reached this milestone.

A European passport that opens a new phase

The PSCA approval gives Deskoin access to the European passport provided for by the MiCA regulation, which allows its services to be marketed across all twenty-seven Member States of the Union without additional approval. Historically focused on France and neighboring countries, Deskoin can now directly address the European market and strengthen its positioning among companies and institutions.

This new phase is in line with the mission Deskoin has always claimed: to position itself as a bridge between, on the one hand, the players, technologies and companies of Web3 and crypto-assets, and, on the other, traditional finance, businesses and individuals. This ambition is built on a dual culture: that of the crypto-asset industry, alongside which Deskoin has been working for nearly eight years, and that of market finance, from which its leaders come.

It also benefits from the recent rapprochement between Deskoin and OlkyPay, a payment institution licensed in Luxembourg by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) and supervised in France by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), a subsidiary of the Olky group. This alliance between a PSCA-authorized provider and a European payment institution will make it possible to offer the market a unified payment solution in euros and crypto-assets, covering fiduciary and crypto-asset flows within the same environment and the same user journey. Further information on this product will be communicated shortly.

Words from the executives

Robin Charlier, President of Deskoin:

« Obtaining this approval is a collective source of pride, and it goes beyond Deskoin alone. It demonstrates that it is possible to build, in France and Europe, a sovereign infrastructure for crypto-assets, designed according to our requirements, our rules and our values. In a context where global technological and financial competition is intensifying, and where European digital sovereignty is once again becoming a strategic priority, we are convinced that innovation is not opposed to rigor: it is built on it. Since 2018, Deskoin has been moving forward with patience, method and consistency, without giving in to trends or to models that would not be our own. This approval validates that direction, and today gives us the means to scale it up across Europe. »

Cécile Henry, Legal and Compliance Director of Deskoin:

« The file submitted to the AMF represents several thousand pages of procedures, policies, maps and operational evidence, assembled continuously over many months. Bringing such a file to completion within a team of around fifteen people is a feat whose significance I want to underscore, and whose success today belongs to all of Deskoin’s teams. It concretely illustrates what can result from the meeting between the innovation driven by Deskoin and the demands of the European crypto-asset framework. I am particularly proud of the path traveled with each and every one of you. »

Thanks

Robin Charlier, President of Deskoin, would like to express his gratitude to all of the company’s employees for their commitment, consistency and high standards on a daily basis. Each and every one contributed, within their area, to building the approval application as well as to the quality of the platform that this decision by the AMF now recognizes. This approval is theirs as much as it is the company’s.

He especially salutes Cécile Henry, Legal and Compliance Director and partner at Deskoin, whose expertise, technical mastery and tenacity were decisive in carrying out a file of considerable scope for a structure of our size.

His thanks also go to Franck Rouayroux, President of the Olky group, whose constant support, attentive guidance and expertise in the European regulatory framework were a valuable asset throughout the approval process; and to Owen Simonin and William Simonin for their trust and unwavering support since the company was founded in 2018.

Finally, his thanks go to all the shareholders and partners who accompanied Deskoin in this new step, as well as to the teams at the AMF for the quality of the dialogue maintained throughout the review.